Murder Mysteries
by MileyLoonaticsFan96
Summary: When the newest Slayer attacks one of the Slayer-trainers, they realize that the Slayer's mother was an unknown called Slayer...the one just before Buffy. But investigation into the girl's mother and who killed her pulls up some interesting questions about Angel and Angela's mother and Angela's past... Sequel to "Unlocked"
1. New Girl

Murder Mysteries

Told you it'd be up today! OK, so this one is gonna be a bit more complicated and not quite as action-packed, but it is going to round up the "trilogy" and set us up for my upcoming series set after this story. So I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1: New Girl

Dawn Summers; her husband, Connor; and her older sister, Buffy Summers, were all sitting on the couch in the lobby of the building they were in. Fred and Wesley Wyndham-Pryce were nearby with their baby girl, Irene. It was almost midnight, so they were simply waiting for the rest of their group to come in.

Finally, in came all their friends.

Xander Harris was holding his little daughter, Autumn. "That was fun."

"What's so fun about investigating a murder at a toy store?" asked Anya, Autumn's mother.

Xander held up a plush horse in his free hand. "We got a free toy for Autumn!" He squeezed it…and it started singing:

" _I'm a happy, happy horse; happy, happy, happy horse. I'm a happy, happy horse; happy, happy, happy horse. NEIGH! "_

_That could get old really quick,_ Angela whispered to her twin brother, Angel.

_I think it just did,_ Angel responded.

Dawn got up. "Well, on the less hoofed side, we've got a new Slayer coming in and she should be here in about…15 seconds."

"Just enough time to listen to Happy Horse again!" Xander said.

"NO!" everyone else except Anya said.

Just then, a girl of about 14 came rushing in. She was strawberry blonde with sparkling blue eyes. "I'm here!"

Buffy went over to her. "You must be Lola Moor. I'm Buffy Summers."

"I know, I heard about you." Lola went over to the others. "I can see a long introduction is in order."

"Oh, me first!" said a redhead, "I'm Willow Rosenberg. I'm a Witch."

"Will, we don't have time to go through everyone," her ex-girlfriend, Tara Maclay, intercepted, "It's almost midnight!"

"I'll just show Lola here to her room," Angela said. She started walking down the hall and Lola followed. Finally, the two came to the empty room they'd set up for her. "You can just put all your stuff in here."

Lola dropped her bag on the bed. "Done."

Angela smiled and unzipped the bag she was carrying. "If you need anything…"

"I'll call." Lola then noticed something. The long-sleeved top Angela was wearing had no shoulders, thus exposing the lightning-shaped mark on her right shoulder.

Angela pulled her cell phone out of her bag.

"Good luck. See you in the morning." She walked off.

Lola stared after her, anger in her eyes.

[Flash to February 1757]

A brunette woman who looked about 21 was sitting in a rocking chair by the fireplace in her cottage, knitting. She was crying. "Oh, Henry, why'd you have to go?" She laid down her needles for a second and picked up the picture frame lying on a table next to her. It had a picture of a younger her and a young man with dark hair. There was a silver plaque at the bottom of the frame reading:

Elizabeth Martha Warner  
Henry James Warner  
Together Forever

The young woman named Elizabeth started to cry and laid her hand on her womb. Her husband, Henry, may have died from cholera a week ago, but she'd been pregnant with twins for months.

[Flash back to August 2007]

The next night, Angela was walking through the street looking for anything suspicious. "Another night, another nothing." Suddenly, she was jumped from behind. She kicked herself up, backwards to see who it was (she's very athletic). It was Lola! "I hate it when the Slayers are evil." Her blue eyes turned green as she spoke and then she jumped at Lola in return. Lola knocked her back, kicked her in the face, revealing Angela as a Vampire, and then pulled out a stake. Angela grabbed her wrist before the stake could go anywhere near her heart and pushed her back.

Before Lola could make another move, Angel appeared behind her, himself a Vampire, and held her back. "Do you mind backing off my sister?"

Lola whirled around, sensing that Angel was a Vampire, too, and kicked him in the face.

"Guess not."

"WHOA! TIME OUT!" All three turned to see Xander with Buffy and Willow and the others. Angel and Angela went out of Vamp form and Lola dropped her stake. "What's going on here?"

Angela raised her hand as she got up and her eyes turned back to blue.

"Angela?" Buffy said.

Angela put her hand down. "I was doing the nightly patrol for Vamps when Lola here came out of nowhere and attacked me. I used the link to call Angel for help. I didn't think you guys would be hearing it, too."

"We didn't," Willow explained, "We chased after him after he left."

"You mean you guys know these two are Vampires?!" Lola exclaimed.

"Yeah, I am, too!" Spike pointed out.

Lola kicked him in the gut. "Sorry, reflex. I can't believe you guys are working with three Vampires!"

"They have permanent souls, Lola!" Buffy yelled.

Lola realized what that meant. "Oops."

"You mind explaining what's going on here?" Fred asked.

Lola crossed her arms. "My mother was a Slayer."

"What?!" Buffy was shocked. "I didn't think Slayer blood passed on. Then again, the only Slayer I ever knew had a child had had a boy."

"Yeah, it's kind of a long story."

"We've got plenty of time," Cordelia Doyle said, her arms crossed. She led the group back to the STP (Slayer Training Program) building.

[Flash to October 1916]

A Vampire in the graveyard knocked the girl down. The girl jumped back up, picking up a stake in the process, and revealed her looks: strawberry blonde with sparkling blue eyes. "Now you've done it," she spoke with a British accent.

A young man was leaning against a nearby gravestone. "Come on, Stacey, you can do this." He, too, was British.

"Appreciate the help, Thomas," said the girl named Stacey as she knocked over the Vampire, "But I'm doing just fine already, thank you very much." She bent down and staked the Vampire, turning him to dust.

Neither seemed to notice the brunette girl hiding in the forest next to the cemetery. The girl named Angela.


	2. Now a Story, Then a Story

Chapter 2: Now a Story, Then a Story

"So what happened with your mom?" Fred asked Lola.

"Well," Lola explained, "when she was 19, she was called as the Slayer. She was pregnant with me at the time, had been for five months, and apparently, it was because of this that the Watcher's Council didn't find her. Her Watcher knew it was her, but didn't tell them. So my mother slew a few Vampires, gave birth to me, and then took care of me for two months and was killed by Vampires. Her Watcher had to take care of me, of course, and I've been living with her for the past 11 years."

"Whoa, whoa, _11_ years?" Buffy asked, "When exactly did your mother die?"

"Uh…September 17th, 1996."

Buffy was shocked. "That's the day I was called."

Fred was shocked, too. "So Lola's mother was the Slayer who came just before Buffy?"

"And her grandmother before her," Lola explained, "with my grandfather in between."

"So Slayers do go through generations," Cordelia figured out.

Buffy put her hand on her womb. "And nobody knew because the only Slayers to have daughters were Lola's mother and great-grandmother."

"And maybe my great-great-grandmother," Lola added, "But I'm not so certain about that one. Anyway, Nora, my mom's Watcher, said that the Vampire who killed my mother had the lightning mark on her shoulder."

Angela covered her right shoulder with her left hand. "Then it could've been any of the Gales. But I only ever killed one Slayer." Buffy and Angel looked at her. "I didn't have a soul then! Partial or whole!" Angela sighed and took her hand down. "I only killed a Slayer in Norway in 1875. And the Gales as a group did it, technically speaking." She said the next part under her breath: "Even if I was the one who stabbed her."

Summer, Connor and Dawn's daughter (long story), sighed. "So let me get this straight: Lola's great-grandmother was a Slayer, and she had a son. Then he gave life to Lola's mother, who was a Slayer, too, until Lola was two months old and her mother died. That same day, Aunt Buffy was called and Lola's mother's Watcher took Lola in?"

"That about sums it up," Lola said.

Angela then thought of something. "So, if your great-_great_-grandmother _was_ a Slayer, she would've been alive around 1915?" Lola nodded. "Might I ask her name?"

Lola thought about that. "Uh…Stacey Jenson. Why?"

Angela started to leave. "I-I gotta go."

Angel followed his sister and stopped her in the hall. "What's wrong?"

Angela looked at her brother and walked past him, without saying a word.

[Flash to March 1757]

Elizabeth was standing in her cottage, staring at the fire, when she heard a knock at her door. "It's open."

The door opened and in walked another woman, this one with very light hair and very dark eyes.

Elizabeth knew who it was without looking. "What do you want, Louisa?"

The woman named Louisa smiled. "You never get tired of those guessing games, do you, Liz?"

Elizabeth turned to face her. "What do you want?"

"Don't fret, darling, I just came to check on you…" Louisa reached out to touch Elizabeth's womb, but Elizabeth grabbed her by the wrist before she could.

"Get out of here, before I kick you out."

Louisa pulled her hand away. "Strong words for a little old lady like you."

"Get. Out."

"Oh, come on," Louisa said, walking over to the fire, "Don't you wanna know about your children?" She pulled a handful of some strange dust out of the pocket of her dress and threw it into the fire. The flames rose and turned purple. Louisa put her hand in it and closed her eyes. She smiled. "Fraternal twins."

"I'll tell you one last time—"

"Ooh, that's not good." Louisa pulled her hand out.

Elizabeth looked at her. "What?"

Louisa opened her eyes. "Vampires. Both of them." Elizabeth's eyes filled with worry as she put her hands on her womb. "Oh, not yet. But, trust me, no good comes from demons." She walked over to her. "Not like you and me."

"I'm not like you."

Louisa started to walk out. "Oh, but before I go, just a warning." Louisa pulled a little more of the dust out of her pocket. "If it's raining the night you give birth, or if there's no one there to help you, you're gonna need me." She blew on the dust and it whirled around the room and put out the fire. Since she was still facing away from Elizabeth, the soon-to-be mother didn't see the girl's eyes flash.

"I won't need you. Trust me."

Louisa smiled. "Well, if you change your mind, you know how to call me."

Elizabeth stared after her as she walked out and then looked back at the fire that had been put out. The flames were coming back…this time blue and pink.

[Flash to October 1916]

Stacey staked another Vampire and turned to her Watcher. "I told you I could do this alone."

"You keep thinking that," Thomas said, neither of them noticing another Vampire digging its way through the soil, "This is still your first night. Maybe you just—"

"WATCH OUT!" Angela jumped out of nowhere and knocked down the Vampire. Thomas whirled around and Stacey turned her attention to the new fight. Angela kicked the Vampire in the gut, knocking him back into a gravestone.

Stacey ran up to the Vampire and staked him. She turned to Angela. "Thanks for the help, miss."

Angela smiled. "Anytime. I was just in the neighborhood and that guy getting ready to attack you so—"

Stacey punched her in the face before she could finish her sentence.

"Stacey, you can't just—" Thomas stopped when he saw that Stacey had revealed Angela as a Vampire.

"Why did you help us?" Stacey asked, "Looking for a feeding session?"

"No!" Angela morphed back into her human guise. "I don't feed on human blood anymore. The truth is…I heard the new Slayer was here and that the Watchers' Council was planning on sending her after the Gales because they think the group's weak now that their leader's left." Angela shook her head. "They're not. I came here to help you fight them."

Stacey scoffed. "Like I need help from some blood-sucking—"

"What do you know about them?" Thomas asked, interrupting Stacey.

"I know that they can't be killed by any human, even a Slayer," Angela answered, "And that they've killed a Slayer and sending one after them alone would be a suicide mission."

"Have you ever faced them?" Stacey asked, suspiciously.

Angela looked at them for a few seconds. "I was their leader. The one who left the gang."

"You're Aingael?" Thomas asked.

Angela half-smiled at him. "It's Angela."

[Flash to July 1993]

Aster Moor was lying on her bed. She was asleep until the sun rose. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around. She sat up in her bed when she noticed that the room was empty. She started to rush out of bed and go off to her work when she ran into someone, knocking them both to the ground. "I'm so sorry, miss," Aster said, speaking with a British accent, "I was unaware of your presence. I was about to go off with the other servants—"

"Are you Aster Moor?" asked the woman as she helped Aster up.

Aster looked at her. "Yes."

"I'm Nora Regime, your Watcher."

Aster looked at her again. "Excuse me? Did Porter assign you to watch me? He's been on my back since—"

"Do you remember your father at all?"

Aster looked at her feet. "No. He died when I was 5. My grandmother died when he was 8. My mother died when I was 6. I refused to go to the orphanage and signed myself up as a servant girl here."

"Weren't you married to another servant for a while?"

Aster nodded. "John."

"Allow me to explain myself. You are a Vampire Slayer. Your grandmother was one, too."

Aster stared at Nora. "What? I believe you, I mean, oddly enough, but I can't fight the undead right now, I'm—"

"Pregnant?"

Aster looked at her again. "Yes."

Nora looked at her. "Don't worry. I'll take care of you…both of you."

Aster smiled.

[Flash to August 2007]

Angel came into his sister's room to find her lying on her bed, half-awake. "You OK?" Angela nodded. "You seemed a little tense after Lola told us about her great-great-grandmother."

"I don't wanna talk about it." Angela turned away from her brother to face the wall, still laying her head on her pillow.

"Then let me talk, because I think we figured it out. After Lola finished explaining and went to bed, we started talking about you. We think that Lola's great-great-grandmother, Stacey Jenson, was the Slayer of the Watcher you fell in love with, the one that split your soul." It was here that Angela started crying, silently. "We think that the idea that his Slayer's great-great-granddaughter is here is a little too much for you…because it reminds you of him. And since he's dead by now, you don't wanna think about your loss."

Angela closed her eyes. "Yes. But there's more to the story…the story I don't wanna talk about."

Angel went over to his sister and sat down on the bed next to her. "Well, if you ever do wanna talk about it, I'm right here…we all are."

Angela stopped crying, wiped away her tears, and faced her brother. "You know I love you…" Angel smiled. "…but I loved him more than anything and I can't bear to talk about him, especially not to you."

Angel stopped smiling. "OK. I understand." He got up and started to walk over to the door to leave.

"You're doing it again."

Angel stopped walking and turned back to his sister. "What?"

"Making me feel…like you understand and it's OK to tell you. Well, enough with the guilt trip, I'm not saying anything."

Angel smiled. "That's not what I was doing at all." He walked into the hall, closing the door behind him.

_I'm not gonna talk about him…no matter what you say…or do…or think, _Angela pointed out.

_I know._


	3. Confession

Chapter 3: Confession

"Well?" Wesley asked Angel when he came back into the conference room.

Angel sat down next to Buffy. "She's not talking. Our theory was right, but she's not saying anything past that."

"Maybe it's too painful for her," Willow said, "To lose someone you love like that, for them to die, probably even right in front of you…I know how that feels." She winked at Tara, who smiled.

"I think there's more to it, Will," Xander said, "If she's not talking to Angel, of all people, she's not talking. Period. It's a story we'll never know."

"His name was Thomas." They all looked at the door to see Angela standing there.

"Or…" Xander said.

Angela smiled at him. "Don't make me upset, this is painful already." She sat down next to Angel. "I met him in 1916, 10 years after I got my soul…"

[Flash to November 1916]

"I still can't believe we trust her, Thomas," Stacey ranted to Thomas in his apartment, "She's a Vampire. Soul or no soul, she's a demon. Demons are evil by nature!"

"Actually," Thomas corrected, "some demons have become valuable members of society."

Stacey sat down on Thomas' bed, right next to him. "I can't believe I got you for a Watcher. The young ones are always the dumb ones."

"You think?"

Stacey looked at Thomas and smiled. She gazed at him for a few minutes and then grasped his hand…

[Flash to October 1993]

Aster was screaming in pain. Nora and some of the other servants were around her, helping her through the birth pangs. They couldn't afford to take her to the hospital (couldn't anyway because the roads were starting to flood) so she was giving birth on the floor of the kitchen. Finally, her baby was out.

Nora held the little girl in her arms and handed her to Aster. "It's a girl."

Aster smiled. "I know just what to name her…"

[Flash to April 1757]

Elizabeth was, once again, in her cottage. She had her hands on her womb again. She left her cottage and walked into the daylight outside. The sunlight made her blue eyes sparkle. She came to the well in the middle of the Irish village she lived in and looked at her reflection in the water. Unlike a Vampire, she did have one. Unlike a human, her reflection was a lot different than how she actually looked…

She had long brunette hair which was currently hanging down. Her skin was a mix of peach and ivory. And her clothes were currently a simple light wool and cotton dress of Irish green.

Her reflection showed her hair purple and her skin a darker green than her dress. Her reflection had on a strange jumpsuit-like outfit than looked like a mix of blue and orange.

Elizabeth splashed her reflection away and it turned to a normal reflection as she started digging out some water for herself. There was no doubt about it…she was definitely a demon of some sort…

[Flash to August 2007]

Angela was still telling her story. "…and he died of old age."

"Wow," Buffy said, "You sure went through a lot together. No wonder you don't wanna talk about him."

Angela nodded. "But I guess our main concern is finding out who really killed Lola's mom. I think the Gales would've mentioned killing a second Slayer and I definitely didn't do it. So either her Watcher was hiding something…or her Watcher has terrible eyesight."

Willow opened her laptop. "I'll start searching."

"And I'll go mope in my room." Angela walked off.

"Wow," Spike said, "I'm starting to see a brother-sister resemblance, Broody."

Angel gave him a look, smiled at Buffy, and then got up, too. "I think I'll go with her." He went off to check on his little sister. He came in just in time to see her fall asleep on her bed. He smiled, closed the door, pulled a blanket over his twin sister, and then sat down nearby and just looked at her…unaware that she was dreaming…

_Angela was walking through a forest. After looking around for a few seconds, she realized that it was the forest where she'd met Thomas. She instantly knew where she was going and ran into the graveyard to find someone standing there. "Thomas?"_

_The man faced her. It was indeed her dead ex-boyfriend. "Angela. Miss me?"_

_Angela stepped back. "It can't be you. You're not real. I…I killed you." She was starting to cry._

"_And I thank you for it. Too bad your friends all have to die, too."_

_Suddenly, Angela could hear her friends calling out for her from the forest. She tried to call out to them and tell them to stay back, but her voice was gone._

"_You thought you could betray me like that and get away with it?"_

_Angela faced Thomas again. She was really crying now. "Please…"_

"_Oh, so you're saying it now. Me or them?" Thomas was then a Vampire. "Take your pick."_

"_No…no!" Angela started backing up._

_Evelyn was the first to come out. Thomas threw a stake at her and it pierced her in the heart turning her to dust._

"_NO!" Angela fell to her knees next to the bushes and tried to keep her eyes away from the fight…but Angel was the next victim…_

Angela woke up and instantly screamed.

Angel reacted quickly. He jumped up and ran over to his sister. "What is it? What happened?"

Angela looked at her brother, tears welling up, and buried herself in his chest, crying even more than ever.

Angel wrapped his arms around his sister and tried to comfort her. "It's OK…it was just a dream…it's over…"

[Flash to May 1917]

Thomas stared at Angela, who was sitting on the ground in the graveyard, lying in wait. He smiled and went over to her. "Hello."

Angela looked at him and smiled. "Hello, Thomas."

Thomas sat down next to her. "How've you been?"

Angela smiled again. "Fine. Dead, but…as good as ever."

Thomas smiled at the joke. "What do you say we…go out on Saturday?"

Angela stared at him. "You're serious."

"As I'll ever be."

Angela smiled again, wider this time. "Deal." She didn't know that that night would change her afterlife forever…

[Flash back to August 2007]

Xander looked at Buffy. "What is it? You look a little more tense than Angela."

"It's nothing, it's just that…"

"Come on, Buff," said Xander, "Whatever it is, you can tell us."

Buffy sighed. "I think I'm pregnant." Everyone looked at her. "With Angel's child."

"But…that's impossible," said Fred.

"And I thought I was a big deal," said Connor.

"How long has this been going on?" asked Faith.

Buffy hesitated. "Just ever since the night he permanently got his soul."

Wesley sighed. "Maybe there's something—"

Willow hit something on her computer. "Uh…oh, boy."

"What is it?" Andrew asked as he and the others surrounded her.

"Well, I tapped into the Watchers' Council's old records," Willow explained, "and they keep track of all their Watchers and…well, the first name that jumped at me was Thomas Berkeley. I pulled up that file before I even thought about continuing and…well, Angela said that he died of old age, so he would've died around the late '50s, early '60s, or somewhere around that time. But this says he died in 1921."

"What?!" Buffy was shocked. She went over there without thinking. "This says they found 2 bite marks in his neck. Killed by Vampires."

Angel walked in. "Willow, have you found anything yet?"

"Yeah," Connor answered for her, "Angela lied about when her boyfriend died."

"How do we know she lied?" Dawn instantly defended her sister-in-law (and aunt-in-law).

"Because," Wesley answered, "obviously, she would've eventually found out that another moment of true happiness would not affect her soul so she would've gone to see him. So either she couldn't find him and eventually renounced him dead, or…she's hiding something she doesn't want us to find out about."

"Wes is right." Everyone turned to see Angela standing in the doorway. "And for those of you who don't know, it's the second one."

"Let me guess," Willow said, "It's who killed him."

"Yeah."

Willow smiled smugly.

"I did."

Willow's smile faded. Everyone stared at Angela, shocked at what she'd just said.


	4. Flashback

Chapter 4: Flashback

"What do you mean you killed him?" Angel went over to his sister.

"I mean I killed him," Angela said. She sat down at the table and Angel sat down next to her. "After I got my soul, I went back to join the Gales and…things went downhill from there…"

[Flash to June 1917]

Darkana sat down next to Melody in the Gales' chamber in Scotland. "I told you, girls, we don't need Aingael. She's moved on, we moved on."

"Who are you kidding?" The Gales all turned to see Aingael standing in the doorway. "You so need me."

Isabella went over to her old leader. "What do you want?"

Famina smiled. "Don't worry, Bella, her soul's not active."

"Nope, it's me." Aingael sat down next to Famina. The Gales were too shocked and/or excited to notice that her eyes were red and not their usual blue. "Ran into a Watcher as soul girl. He gave me my moment of true happiness and _BOOM!_ Aingael returns."

Isabella started clapping, but Tameeka stopped her and shook her head.

Famina closed her eyes. "I'm surprised you were still happy with him after what he did with his Slayer."

"Say what?"

Famina stopped smiling and opened her eyes. "You don't know? That Thomas guy slept with his Slayer."

Aingael gasped. "That jerk!" She shrugged. "Oh well, I'll kill him later."

[Flash to August 2007]

"So Aingael killed him," Xander said, "Big deal. It wasn't you, it was a demon."

"Xander, Aingael didn't kill him!" Angela corrected, "Let me finish!" She sighed. "My soul kept going on and off for the next 4 years before I realized what my condition was and decided to go see him. Biggest mistake of my life…"

[Flash to March 1921]

Angela's eyes were blue again as she approached the window of Thomas' apartment. She looked in. He wasn't in there. She looked at the bed and felt her sight kicking in as images of Thomas and Stacey making out on it filled her mind. She quickly turned away and started to search for Thomas. Eventually, the images started taking over her brain and she felt herself starting to cry. She found the tallest building on the block and decided that she could get a better view from up there. She used her Vampire skills to jump up to the top and looked around the roof. She looked out at the graveyard where she'd first met the Watcher and saw that he was there. It wasn't her sight, it was really him…giving no notice to the rising Vampire behind him. "Look out," she whispered to herself as the tears continued welling down.

Thomas whirled around. It was like he'd heard her. He took out a stake and started dueling the Vampire. Finally, he pinned him to the ground and staked him.

Angela smiled and then caught herself and looked down the street. She was just in time to notice Isabella sneaking up on the guy, without using her super speed, in order to defend her friend. "No, no!" Despite Thomas' betrayal, she couldn't bear to see him die. But it seemed her feet were glued to the spot. She couldn't will herself to move an inch.

Finally, Isabella arrived at the graveyard and zoomed over to Thomas and bit him.

Angela cried as she stared down at him and finally turned away. "It's done."

[Flash to August 2007]

Angela was practically crying again.

Willow stared at her. "So you _didn't_ kill him?"

"No, but I let him die and that's just as bad. I stood there and watched it!"

"Allow me to cut in," said Summer, "You don't think he impregnated his Slayer and that she had a girl who had a boy who had a girl who had Lola, do you?"

Dawn looked at her daughter. "Oh my—you're right! That's gotta be it!"

"Not really helping here," Angela pointed out, "That means I'm connected to this girl. For all I know, Aingael killed her mother after all, sensing the blood's relation, while she was in one of her 'joined infection' states and I still don't remember it."

"I'll admit that that is possible," Wesley said, "But our main concern right now is—"

"Oh, boy," Willow suddenly said. She typed a little more as everyone turned their attention to her. "Oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy!"

"What is it, Will?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, we were kind of having a moment over my story here," Angela added.

Willow stopped typing, breathing heavily. "This may be a bit more important. I tapped into some records of births in the 1700's and…" She looked at the twins. "…I think I found your birth parents."

Angel and Angela both stared at her in confusion and shock. [Music swells.]

[Flash to June 1757]

Elizabeth screamed in pain. She was alone in her cottage, sitting in her chair again. She looked out the window and saw that it was raining. "Louisa!"

Louisa appeared. "Yes, darling?"

"You did this! You made the contractions start on the night you knew was the worst for me!"

"Whatever do you mean?" Louisa asked, walking closer.

Elizabeth stood up. "Don't play innocent! Your curses, your Sight, your part-demon wickedness! You—" She bent over in pain with another contraction.

Louisa helped her stand up straight, but Elizabeth doubled over and fell back into the chair. "Relax, Liz. I can get you through this. I swear to you on the grave of my Remori mother that I didn't do this to you, nor anything you have ever held against me. I am not that kind of Sibyl. And I swear to you on the grave of my human father…that you will be the first Aquaria to survive giving birth."

Elizabeth looked at her "friend" with tears filling her eyes. She buried her face in her own shoulder and wept until the next contraction came. As the rain poured down outside…all she could think of was how the children would be orphaned if Louisa didn't keep her promise.


	5. Now, Then, Every-when

Chapter 5: Now, Then, Every-when

"Elizabeth and Henry Warner," Willow said.

"How do you know they're our parents?" asked Angela.

"Because it says that Elizabeth's children—and Elizabeth herself—were never seen again after the birth. And, of course, there's no record of your births in your 'real families.'"

"So the real question is: who was she?" Angel asked.

"Well, your father died of cholera before you were born—"

"Of course he did," Angela sighed.

"And…huh."

Angela and Angel both looked at her. "'Huh' what?"

"There's no record of your mother's death."

"What?!"

"Quit doing that!" Willow closed her laptop and looked at them. "I think I know what's going on. It says that after you were born, she disappeared. Her neighbors said that after her husband died, she was acting weird, especially around water. That can only mean that she was some kind of demon, most likely an Aquaria. They're immortal. She's still alive!"

Angel stared at her for a few seconds and then looked at his sister. Angela was smiling with tears in her eyes.

[Flash to June 2004]

Illyria looked at Angela. "You should have come sooner. You could have saved Wesley."

"There was traffic in San Diego and we took a wrong turn at Albuquerque," Angela explained.

Angel smiled.

Angela turned to face him. "So how's Buffy doing?"

Angel's smile disappeared.

Angela stared at him. "Angel? Hello?"

"Uh, I think he's out," Spike said. Angel glared at him. "Maybe not entirely. Uh…Buffy's dating the Immortal in Rome."

Angela stared at _him_. "The Immortal? Seriously?"

"You've heard of him?"

"You know what? Let me deal with this." She walked off. About five minutes later, Connor showed up.

_Italy…_

Angela pushed her way through the crowd. "What is with Buffy and dance clubs?" She suddenly bumped into a redhead, almost knocking them both over. "Sorry! I…" The redhead looked at her. She smiled. "Willow!"

"Angela!" The two girls hugged. Willow started to drag her off. "Let's get out of the way." They went up onto the balcony. "You looking for Buffy, too?"

"Yep," Angela answered, sighing, "You seen her?"

"Nope."

"So how've you been the past year?"

Willow shrugged. "Same. Saved the world. Activated all the potential Slayers. Split up across the world to train 'em."

"Wow."

"So, since Buffy's probably gonna ask, how's your brother?"

"Angel? Oh, he's fine. Evelyn and I saved all four of their lives."

Willow nodded, misunderstanding. "So they're all OK?"

"Well, I guess not all of them considering Fred and Wes are dead, but—"

"What? You just said you saved all four of their lives. Fred, Wes, Gunn, and Angel. Wait, what happened to Cordy? And Lorne?"

"You don't know? Lorne left. Fred, Cordy, and Wes are dead. I saved Gunn, Angel, Illyria, and Spike."

"Spike?! Spike's already dead! Like in a dusted kind of way! And who's Illyria?"

"Where have you been the past year? And what do you mean Spike's dusted?"

"We haven't been talking to Angel and the others because they were running Wolfram & Hart. We thought they were evil! And Spike burned himself up permanently closing the Hell-Mouth!"

"We so should've been talking on the DreamScape!"

Willow sighed. "Let's just try to—"

"Will? Angie?"

Both girls turned. "Xander!" They looked at each other.

Angela went over and hugged Xander, Willow following. "What happened to your eye?"

Xander smiled at her. "I had a run-in with the evil preacher."

Angela giggled. "Do you know where Buffy is?"

Xander looked out into the crowd. "Oh! I see! Ironic, isn't it? Yeah, there's a real pretty brunette out there!"

Angela stopped smiling. "Uh, Buffy's blonde."

"Yeah, I know that."

Angela glared at him. "Aren't you with Anya?"

"Anya's dead. Has been for over a year now."

Angela stared at him. "Wha—How much did I miss?"

"A lot," Willow and Xander both said.

Angela groaned and rolled her eyes.

Willow looked where Xander was looking. "Xander?"

"Huh?"

"That's Faith."

Xander looked at the brunette. It _was_ Faith! "Oh! Oh, not again!"

"Faith!" Willow called out. Faith couldn't hear her over the music. Faith then stopped a blonde and talked to her. "Buffy!" Buffy seemed to catch a little of this call, but she couldn't register that Willow was calling her. Willow closed her eyes. _Buffy! Buffy! We're over here!_

Buffy turned to the direction the call was coming from, sensing that it was close by, and saw Willow. She smiled and ran over there, Faith following. "Will!" She hugged her best friend. "Xander!" She hugged her other best friend. "Angie?" She looked at Angela.

Angela held her arms out. "It's me."

Buffy forced out a smile. "How's your brother?"

Before Angela could get an answer, they heard someone else. "Xander! Willow! Faith!" They all turned to see Andrew, who ran over and hugged Xander. "What are you three doing here?"

"It's a little reunion," Faith said.

Andrew looked at Angela. "And who's this? One of your Slayers?"

"Uh…" Willow looked back and forth between Angela and Andrew a few times. "Angela, this is Andrew Wells, a friend of ours. Andrew, this is Angela…Angel's twin sister."

Andrew looked at Angela. "Is it true?" He walked over there. "Angel has a sister?"

"He didn't mention me?"

"Well, we were always talking about work whenever the two of us were in the same room so…it never really came up. So how'd this happen?"

"Oh, we were separated at birth, both grew up in Europe, and Darla turned us. We had our gangs for about 150 years, got souls, and I have superpowers. Angel and I met a few years back and I've been visiting him once a year ever since."

"It's like Luke and Leia! You never knew you had a long lost sibling with the power that you have. And then you are reunited, discover you are twins, and you save the world and discover who your parents are! Well, minus that last part, but…still…"

"I get it," Angela said.

Buffy sighed and smiled. "You are so not like your brother."

"Depends on when you get me," Angela said, hinting towards her mixed personalities.

"Buffy!" Dawn ran up. "How…" She then noticed Angela. "Angela!" The two hugged. "How's Evelyn?"

"Oh, she's fine. And Teddy's fine, too."

Dawn giggled.

Buffy smiled. "All we need are Kennedy and Giles and we got ourselves the whole group together."

_DING!_ That's when Angela got an idea. "You said that you've been training the Slayers…who says you need to be apart to do that?" And so the entire group was reunited; they met Angel, Spike, Gunn, Illyria, Connor, and Evelyn; and the whole group thus formed the STP.

[Flash to August 2007]

"Tell me you have something, Willow," said Angela.

"Nothing, nothing, and, oh yeah, nothing. Wait!" 3…2…1… "Nope, nothing. Wait a minute. Check this out! There's no records I can find on Elizabeth Warner, she completely disappeared. But I went back to the Watchers Council's records and there's no mention of any Nora Regime entered into the Council in the '90s."

"Wait, so her Watcher was a fake?" asked Buffy, "Then how do we even know her mother was a real Slayer, let alone that she's Thomas' Slayer's descendant?"

Angela thought about that. "You may be right. But the only way to find out is to corner this Nora and interrogate her. Lola said she was still alive."

"Yeah, and we know where she is, but she's a cook at…" Angel sighed. "How do you expect us to sneak into Buckingham Palace?"

Angela thought about that. "Willow, pull up a map of it. I think I'm getting an idea. Boy, am I glad I watched _National Treasure_."

[Flash to December 1997]

Aster lay in a bed.

Nora walked up to her with some soup. "Are you feeling better? You've been sick for two months, ever since Lola was born."

"I'll be fine, Nora."

"Alright, let me fix your soup for you." She walked over to a cabinet Aster couldn't see. She laid the soup bowl on it and got out a bottle of powder, which she promptly poured into the bowl…


	6. Year after Year after Year

Chapter 6: Year after Year after Year…

"Alright!" said Faith, propping herself on a chair, "Let's go over this plan so we can not mess it up."

"Hit us with it, Riley," Angela told Willow.

"Stop it with the _National Treasure _references!" Willow typed a little bit. "Alright." She brought up the blueprint of the Palace. "Now, obviously, Kennedy has to stay here to watch the Slayers, but we all have to be sneaking in. And the servants' quarters—including the kitchen where Nora supposedly worked—is located on the other side of the queen's study, which can only be accessed by a service elevator only open in security."

"So we have to get arrested," said Faith, "Leave this one to me."

[Flash to July 1757]

Louisa kept helping Elizabeth through the contractions. Finally, the two girls heard a baby crying.

Louisa held up a baby. "It's a boy."

Elizabeth couldn't help but smile. Then she screamed again.

After a few more pushes, Louisa held up another baby. "And a girl."

Elizabeth took her babies. "Stay away from my children, Louisa."

"You need to make up your mind. Do you want me to help you or not?"

"I never want you to help me again. Get out of my house before I send that rain bursting through the window like bullets."

Louisa glared at her. Then she got up from the floor and walked off.

Elizabeth got the strength to stand up and laid her babies on the bed.

Once the babies were safely out of the way, Louisa whirled around and sent a bolt of magic flying at Elizabeth.

She ducked the magic and did exactly what she'd warned Louisa that she'd do: she sent the rain flying through the window at Louisa, each drop piercing her like bullets.

Louisa was knocked down.

Elizabeth came up and pinned her down. "Stay away from my family. I know you cursed my husband, made him take on the cholera. You started that surge of it in the first place."

Louisa glared at her. "Come on, Liz, all I want is the kids. I never would've guessed you'd be as powerful as your husband."

"My husband was mortal."

"He didn't know about you, you didn't know about him. He was a Noriak demon."

Elizabeth stared at Louisa in shock, then glanced at her children.

"That's right. An Aquaria and a Noriak had twin children. That combination is so valuable to a Sibyl that I could never let an opportunity to take their souls pass me by."

"I won't let you harm my children!"

"Don't worry. Once they get turned, become Vampires, they'll be even more special."

Elizabeth grabbed Louisa's throat. "I want you to leave here and never come back. And if I ever see you again, if my children ever get hurt, you will wish you were never born. Now get out of my house. And stay out. For good." She got up and went over to her babies.

Louisa stared at her, then finally got up and left.

Elizabeth stared after her. She knew Louisa would come back someday. And if Louisa had been telling the truth about how valuable to the Underworld her children were, they'd never be safe with her. And it was likely her giving birth wouldn't let her last long. Aquaria demons always died within a year of the birth of their children if they didn't die in labor. She couldn't keep the children. She looked at her babies and started crying. If they were going to live, they would have be separated from her…and each other. She obviously would have to keep them for a year, but she couldn't be with them forever…

[Flash to March 1758]

Elizabeth, concealed by a cloak, carried her babies off. She ran through the rain and up to a house. She put one of the babies on the doorstep, knocked on the door, and ran off. Someday the kids would meet and discover who they were. Whether she'd be alive at the time or not was yet to be determined, but the only thing that mattered was that her children were safe. Until she knew what was to become of the future…she'd be waiting…

[Flash to August 2007]

Buffy walked into Buckingham Palace in a trench coat and sunglasses. She looked around.

_Buffy!_ Cordelia scolded through the link, coming up and taking the sunglasses, _We're getting arrested, not catching a killer._

_How on earth are we gonna get arrested?_ asked Buffy.

Fred and Wesley were up on the stairs.

_We'll think of something, I always think of something,_ Wesley told her.

_Uh, you don't think of something, I think of something,_ Fred corrected.

"Fred, I'm the smart one, remember?"

"When it comes to demons. When it comes to tech stuff, it's me."

"Well, neither applies here, so where does that put us?"

"Obviously, not in your care."

"Fred, there's people on this staircase and we're not using the link. Let's not make a scene."

_We wanna make a scene,_ Willow told them from the bathroom, where she'd set up a tech operation.

"WELL, THEN, FINE!" Wesley cried, getting everyone's attention, "If you don't appreciate me, I'll just leave!"

"'Leave'? I am your wife! I am as close to 'happy' as you will ever get!"

Doyle ran up to them. "Come on, let's not go through this again!"

"Why are you so concerned for her?" asked Cordelia, "Are you suddenly all over her?! How do you think that makes me feel?!"

"Whoa! Now I think we're going too far!" Angel jumped in.

"Stay out of this!" Buffy snapped, "It's their fight!"

"A fight they're not supposed to be having!" Angela pointed out, "That's one thing we're not supposed to do: we're not supposed to fight. SO STOP FIGHTING!"

"Don't you tell them what to do!" Anya snapped.

"Don't you tell her not to tell them what to do!" Xander snapped. He then thought about that.

"OK, that was just plain dumb!" snapped Faith.

"Hey!" Dawn snapped back, "Don't call him dumb! He's just as smart as me!"

"Wow," said Spike, "You're either saying that you're dumb, too, or that he's just as smart as a girl six years younger than him."

Connor glared at him. "She's smarter than you are!"

"Alright, that's just plain going too far—"

"Trust me, it's just far enough!" Giles snapped.

"Finally!" said Wesley, "Someone agrees with me!" He pointed at Fred. "This one says that even when I'm right, I'm wrong!"

"No! It's just that you always assume you're right—"

"You guys cannot leave each other alone, can you?!" cried Tara.

"Man, does everyone have issues today?!" Gunn asked.

"I don't know!" Andrew answered, "Is Darth Vader Luke's father?!" They all looked at him.

"That's it! I'm out!" Summer jumped onto the stairwell handle and slid down it.

A guard stopped her. "Hey, no delinquents on the banister!"

Summer scoffed and started speaking in her best British accent: "Oh, tell me I am not gonna be stuck with these goody-two-shoes crumpet-lovers!"

"Hey! I love crumpets!"

"Oh, there's a surprise!"

"THAT'S IT! DISMOUNT THE BANISTER!" He grabbed her and pulled off, calling back-up to take off the rest of the gang, everyone still yelling.

Willow smiled in the bathroom, having seen it all through the hacked security cameras on her laptop. _That. Was. Brilliant._

The gang was locked in cell in security.

"Oh, sure," Summer said in her normal voice, "Put us in the same cell after all of us fighting is what got us in here!"

"Summer, we wanted them to put us in the same cell," said Buffy.

"I know, but that is a horrible strategy."

_What cell are you guys in?_ asked Willow.

Angela looked at the symbol by the door. _32._

_Got it,_ Willow started typing away.

Wesley looked at Fred. "I thought you couldn't act. When did you learn to fake-argue like that?"

"When did you realize I was actually arguing in the fake argument?"

"That part in the middle there: 'I always assume I'm right'? Where did you get that?"

Before Fred could answer, the door lock clicked open.

Wesley cleared his throat. "Thanks, Willow."

_No problem._

They all raced out and ran to find the elevator.

_I'm gonna have to zone you guys out. Otherwise, I won't be able to hold up the spell to enlarge the elevator so that you'll all fit._

"No problem, Will," said Dawn. She then saw a bunch of flowers and grabbed them. "Make us look more casual."

The elevator opened. They all climbed in.

Andrew started trying to push the elevator door all the way down so that they could go up, but… "It won't close!"

"Andrew!" Faith snapped.

"What?"

"Foot!"

Andrew then realized that his foot was in the way. "Oh." He pulled his foot away and closed the door.

"Tara?"

"Hmm?"

"Why are you wearing that perfume that Willow gave you?"

"I am not!"

"I would recognize it anywhere. You wore it for two years."

"It's the flowers, Dawnie."

"No, it's not."

The elevator opened in the hall outside the queen's study. They left it, allowing Willow to drop the spell and jump back into the link, and went off to find the servants' quarters.

_OK, now remember, _Angela told everyone as Dawn laid the flowers on a table where they blended in, _this woman may be dangerous so we need to be prepared for anything._

_No problem, _Andrew told them, taking out a dagger as they walked down an empty hall, _I can handle anything. _To prove this, he threw the dagger over his shoulder…and almost hit Xander with it. "Sorry!"

Xander pushed him.

Andrew pushed him back.

The two boys started clawing at each other.

"Hey, quit shoving!" Anya pulled them apart.

Summer shushed them. _You're gonna scare her away._

_You really think she'd know exactly who we are and why we're here? _Faith asked.

_Maybe not. But after all those years in Sharusa, I learned plenty about tracking and… _She looked down all three halls in front of them when they came to a split hall. _…I still got nothing. Willow?_

_Hold on a second. _Willow had been following them, taking them from the security camera footage. _OK, turn right._

They followed her advice and finally found the kitchen.

_Good call, _Buffy told Willow.

_I have a map up on my laptop, I don't think it's all that impressive._

_Still, you hacked up the map, so… _Buffy opened the door to the kitchen.

Dawn walked in and told the others to wait. She cornered one of the cooks. "Uh, excuse me, can you tell me where I can find Nora Regime?"

"Who?"

Dawn blinked. "Uh, she used to hang out a lot here with, uh…Aster Moor."

"Oh, her! Said her name was Nora Ramon. She barely got over it when poor Aster came down with that flu. Poor girl hardly ever came out of bed until she died. Haven't seen her or Aster's little daughter since." She walked off.

Dawn processed this. _Flu? I thought Aster was killed by a Vampire._

_If her Watcher was a fake, who knows what else was a lie, _Buffy pointed out, _Will, was there any Nora Ramon admitted to the Council in the 90's?_

Willow checked. _No, there's nothing in the Council's records. The only Nora in the Council in the last decade was killed like 12 years ago. She couldn't possibly have raised Lola._

_There's gotta be an answer to this, _Angela told them, _Aster was killed somehow. Who knows if that cook was even telling the truth? She could've been hired or something to throw us off._

_It may be possible, but I don't think that's what happened, _said Connor, _I can tell something's wrong here._

_And what exactly is that? _asked Dawn as she walked out of the kitchen to meet them, _'Cause I've got nothing._

_Just let me handle this one, _Angela said, walking into the kitchen in Dawn's place, _You guys keep watch._

_If this woman is dangerous, you're gonna need back-up, _Angel told her.

_Then come with me. Just don't get in my way when I'm interrogating. I'm the best we got._

_Right, _said Xander, _You kill her with that "good Vamp, bad Vamp" routine. …well, don't really kill her, 'cause then we'll get nothing._

Angela glared at him and pulled Angel into the kitchen. She saw another cook walking by and went over to her. "Hey, can you tell us where we can find Nora Regime? Or Ramon or something?"

"You found her." Nora looked at her.

"Oh, it's you! OK, I'll make this simple: what do you know about Aster Moor?"

Angel looked at her. _Angela, don't be blunt. She'll know something's up._

_Trust me on this one, Angel, I know what I'm doing. _"Well?"

Nora looked at her. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I think you do. Lola told us everything."

"Lola's dead."

Angela looked at her. "What?"

"I saw it. She was murdered in an alley."

Angela stared at her. "You're lying."

"Prove it."

Angela knew what she had to do. She grabbed Nora's arm…

_Aster lay in her bed…_

_Nora poisoned her…_

_Aster died…_

_Nora cut Aster's arm open and took the blood…_

_12-year-old Lola walked through an alley…_

_Nora stabbed her…_

_Lola grabbed her stomach where the dagger had been, collapsing…_

_Nora looked at her…_

Angela pulled away.

Nora looked at her.

_What was that? _Angel asked his twin sister.

_A montage of her memories, _said Angela, _And I think I know what happened to Lola's mother. We have to—_

Before she could finish her thought, Nora grabbed a frying pan and hit her with it, knocking her out.


	7. Battling the Past

Chapter 7: Battling the Past

Angel reacted without thinking and kicked the frying pan out of Nora's hands.

The others heard the ruckus (that's right, I used the word ruckus) and instantly dove to help.

Nora held out her hand and a cart moved itself into the way of the door to keep it from opening.

The others couldn't break into the kitchen with that cart in the way.

Nora stood up. "You think you can stop me?"

Angela's eyes opened…and they were green. They slowly turned golden.

"I'm more powerful than you'll ever—" She got whacked with a frying pan.

"Shut up!" Angela snapped in Vamp form. She dropped the frying pan. "Now you know how much that hurts." She turned back to normal (her eyes blue again) and smiled at Angel. "That felt good."

Angel smiled.

Suddenly, Nora jumped up and grabbed Angela. She kicked a nearby wooden chair and held up the broken leg. "I know what you are…who you are."

Angela looked at her.

Angel jumped her before she could attack.

She punched him.

He Vamped.

While the two got into their fight, Angela noticed the cart in the way of the door, keeping out the others. She started to use her own telekinesis to pull it out of the way.

Nora sensed this, however, and fought back.

The two got into a tele-fight. Angela tried to pull the cart away, Nora held it back.

Angel finally seized the opportunity and punched Nora.

Nora's head pinned back from the blow, but she didn't move in reaction otherwise. Suddenly, her short brown hair turned into long blonde hair. She looked at them, laughing. Her eyes had gone from light green to dark blue (and I mean _DARK_). And her face had changed…it was Louisa!

Angel stared at her in shock.

"I should've known you two would be the fighters in the family. Little demon children like you."

"Who are you?" Angela asked.

Louisa looked at her. "Louisa. Sibyl. Old friend of your mom's."

Angela stared at her. "What?"

"Yup. Helped her give birth to you two."

Angela looked her up and down. "Why would you kill Aster Moor?"

Louisa scoffed. "That so-called Slayer? I needed her blood, I knew she wouldn't fork it over, she was never gonna save the world anyway… I saw her future as the Slayer. The Watchers didn't. If she'd been given the chance to live her life as Slayer, this world wouldn't have. And neither would that little girl."

"The little girl you tried to murder?"

"Honey, Slayer blood can only get you so far. Sometimes, you need a little Potential to keep it up. I didn't realize she'd pulled together after I left that alley."

Angela nodded. "I'll bet it was about the time you exited the alley to leave her for dead that she got called and her Slayer strength pulled her together."

"Right. Word around the Underworld street is that all the Potential Slayers got called that day. Never believed it myself. Guess now I have to."

"You said you knew our mother," said Angel, "How do you know we're her kids?"

"I'd recognize the feel of your souls anywhere." She looked at Angela. "Even if they have been severed." She shrugged. "Oh, well. I guess I should give it to you: why I'm here…let's put it this way. Your mother was an Aquaria, your father was a Noriak…add in a little Vampire and sprinkle on a soul. That's a prize worth having for any Sibyl."

Angela tackled her. "Back off my brother."

Louisa sliced at her with her lengthened fingernails.

Angela grabbed her throat and got off of Louisa.

"Just like your mother."

Angela looked at her.

"Meddling little imbecile—"

Angel grabbed her by the throat and threw her through the doors to the next room, launching her through a window across that room. "That's my sister you're talking about." He helped Angela up.

Angela took her hand off her wound, licked off the blood, and healed herself. "I hate being dead." She raced after Louisa, Angel following close behind her.

Louisa raced up a flight of stairs until she came onto the roof.

The twins followed her.

Louisa looked at them. "You really think you can fight me? You have no idea what you're dealing with."

"Angel, lock the door," Angela instructed her brother.

"What? Why?"

"Now!"

Angel did.

Angela jumped Louisa.

The two got into a catfight.

Angel started to get onto Louisa, but she kicked him down and went back to fighting Angela.

Finally, Louisa grabbed Angela and pushed her onto the edge of the roof. She pulled out a dagger and held it up to her throat. She looked up. "Too bad the stars are already out. Bursting into flames would be a much more fitting death than, you know, getting your head chopped off. Of course, as long as you die by my hands, I can harvest that soul of yours, but…" She shrugged. "…I'm starting to think about it. Those friends who tagged along with you…" She closed her eyes. "Oh, I can see them now. That Witch has some pretty amazing powers, she might be just as valuable…" She opened her eyes. "Why don't I just kill them all? Starting with that blonde Slayer."

Angel jumped up and tackled Louisa.

Meanwhile, the gang finally burst into the kitchen and saw the mess made by the fight that had taken place.

"Boy, when they fight…" Doyle said.

Tara looked through the next doors. "The window!"

They all looked and saw the broken window. They raced through it and found a hoard of Vamps waiting for them. That's why Angela locked the door to the roof.

"Uh oh," said Cordelia.

While this kept going, Louisa punched Angel. Angel punched her back. She grabbed him and slammed his head onto the edge of the roof, knocking him out.

Angela saw this and her eyes instantly turned back to green. She raced at Louisa, snatched the dagger from her, and pierced her with it. Right below the heart, where she knew she would die, just not immediately. "Alright, now, let's try this again. Why did you kill Aster Moor and what did you do to our mother?"

Buffy, Faith, and Summer were slaying Vamps left and right. Spike and the others were heading the defense, but slaying as many as they could.

Louisa smirked at Angela. "I'm not gonna tell you anything."

Angela dug the dagger into her body deeper.

"Fine! Fine. I've been working on a spell for centuries. I needed the blood of a Slayer. I tried to kill Aster Moor the second she was called, but she fought me off. I realized she had no Watcher and knew what I had to do. I impersonated one and poisoned her as soon as she had that child. It took four years to wear her down but I got her. I took Lola and raised her for eight years so I could get her Potential blood as soon as I was ready. It didn't work. All I needed was your souls. I've been trying to get you two for 250 years now but it never worked because you have to be killed at the same time to harvest your souls—which, I might add, you didn't have most of that time—and you were always apart. Now I finally get you…and this happens."

"So where is my mother?"

"You think I know where your mother is? I came here for you. If anything, your mother is dead."

Angela stared at her.

Louisa glared at her for a few more seconds before finally dying.

Angel got up and saw Angela take the dagger out.

Angela looked at him, sadly.

He tapped into the link and replayed that whole conversation in 10 seconds. "Oh…" He got up and took the dagger from her. "Angela…"

"Our mother is gone."

"She might have been lying."

"Yup. 'Might'."

He looked at her.

"Angel, Louisa had to be lying. If she were here for us, why would she have to kill Lola's mother?"

"Maybe a Slayer bloodline was dangerous for her. She said she needed Slayer blood for this spell she was doing."

"And what about our mother? If she knew she was gonna die, that would explain why she gave us up."

"She's out there. Trust me."

Angela smiled.

Faith then knocked the door down, staking a Vamp while she was at it. She looked at the Vampire twins. "What'd I miss?"

Angela half-smiled and looked down.

Willow came up to them and held up a glowing glass ball. "Wow. I'm all over the place with the Vamps today."

"Willow, what'd you do?" Angela asked.

"Well, when I noticed that you guys were in trouble, I shut down my little tech operation and came to help you guys. I saw all those Vamps coming onto the gang and decided to seize the moment and re-en-soul Drusilla. She's probably headed into the remorse phase right now so she can come and get with Spike."

Buffy came up to her. "Will, something's wrong."

"You're telling me. While I was doing that spell, it felt like Drusilla already had something going on."

Spike came up to her. "Uh, I might have been holding her down in an old warehouse while I was waiting for you to do the spell."

Willow glared at him. "For how long?"

Spike hesitated. "Four months."

Willow glared at him harder.

"No," Buffy said as Giles came up, "It's not that, it's…" She fainted.

"Buffy!" All six of them raced to help her.


	8. Birth

Chapter 8: Birth

Angel came out of a hotel room and met the others in a waiting room.

"What happened?" asked Dawn, concerned.

"Doctors said it was pre-eclempsia."

Willow realized what that meant. "Oh. Right. We were trying to tell you but it was one thing after another lately. Buffy's been pregnant with your kid ever since you got your permanent soul."

Angel stared at her. "Four and a half months and she didn't notice?"

Willow shrugged.

Angel sighed and sat down next to Angela. "So what's wrong with her?"

"You don't think it is pre-eclempsia?" asked Faith.

"There's a possibility, but they did say it was a little off-track."

Willow sighed. "I see what's going on: the Slayer in her is fighting against the Vampire in that child…and if she keeps wearing out her system keeping herself from having that kid—"

"They'll both die," Angel finished for her.

Willow sighed.

"Isn't there something we can do?" asked Xander.

Giles thought about it and shook his head. "If Buffy's Slayer half is what's causing their deaths, then it's hardly possible that we can do anything about it—"

"Yes, we can," Willow corrected, "All this is going on because she's the Slayer. If we can counter that, then she and the child will both survive."

"What do you mean 'counter it'?" asked Andrew.

Willow sighed. "If we take the Slayer out of her."

They all looked at her.

Evelyn looked at her. "Do you really think you can do that?"

"Have you seen some of the stuff I can do?"

"Willow," Giles debated, "the earth's well-being depends on people like the Slayer and if Buffy is taken from the running—"

"We have plenty of Slayers to spare, Giles. We're talking about Buffy's life here. Don't you care about that?"

"Yes, I do, but—"

"But nothing. I gave Angel his soul back twice, I brought Buffy back from the dead…maybe twice, I believe I can stop her from dying again." She looked at the twins. "Angel's kid, his wife, his decision."

Angel sighed. "If you think you can do it…"

"Trust me, I can."

"And you're sure that's the only way either of them will survive?"

"Absolutely."

Angel considered. "Then I guess we have no choice."

Willow smiled. "Appreciate your enthusiasm."

Angela half-smiled. "Get in there."

Willow nodded and went to do the spell. She started rummaging through her spell bag as she walked down the hall.

A doctor walked up to her. "Hey, you can't go in there—"

She punched him to knock him out. Once she was sure no one had seen, she raced into the room. She looked at her best friend, basically unconscious on the hospital bed. She sighed. "Hey, Buffy." She walked over there, taking her hand. "I hate seeing someone like you all weak like this. And I know how much you hate hospitals." She sighed again and starting pulling stuff out of her bag. Finally, she had what she needed.

The others finally came in.

They found the spell running around the room in a glowing mist, taking all the energy from the lights. The spell seeped into Buffy and began to run through her. It seemed to be battling inside her, caging another magic within. And that's exactly what it was doing. It finally clustered around her abdomen. The shape of the baby inside could be seen clearly, traced by the glow encircling it and protecting it from the rest of the magic. It seemed to go on for hours before finally the mist faded and came out, rushing back to its conjurer.

Willow held up a black light in the bottle. "Essence of Slayer." She tossed it at Spike, who caught it perfectly. "Better save that somewhere secure, we may need it one day."

Suddenly, the heart monitor Buffy was linked to slowed down to a normal pace and her temperature appeared to drop about three degrees.

Willow smiled. "It's working!"

Buffy opened her eyes and looked at her. "Will?"

"I'm right here, Buff."

Angel walked up.

Buffy smiled. Suddenly, she grabbed her stomach and screamed. And the heart monitor shot up.

Willow registered immediately what was happening. She raced out of the hall. "Somebody get a doctor!"

The doctor she'd knocked out got up. "You hit me!"

"We'll deal with that later! It wasn't pre-eclempsia, she's getting seriously premature contractions!"

"OK, OK, just calm down—"

Willow grabbed him. "HER FIRST CHILD IS FOUR MONTHS PREMATURE! DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!"

"ALRIGHT!" He pushed her aside, heading into the room and calling the nurses.

"What do we do?!" Willow panicked, grabbing her hair as Giles came up to her and the others followed.

"I'm not sure there's anything we can do," Giles said, "We aren't exactly gynecologists."

Angel just waited for them to carry Buffy out of the room and off towards the delivery room. As soon as she was headed that way, he quickly followed.

The others were force to pace around the waiting room again, with nothing but Angel's occasional telepathic messages to let them know how things were going. But they all knew the odds weren't in their favor. Buffy was without her Slayer strength for the first times in ten years. She'd been beaten and battered near every night so she wasn't exactly in the best shape. She'd been weakened, strained, probably already losing blood for hours.

And then there was the fact that the child coming out was only halfway through a full pregnancy. Chances were bad enough for a preemie born _four weeks _too early, let alone _four months_.

They waited in panicking fright for hours and hours, essentially beginning to worry that they were waiting to hear how Buffy had died.

_Twelve hours later…_

"Willow, wake up."

Willow shook herself off, forcing herself to sit up again. "What?"

Angel was there. Smiling. "There's someone you guys need to meet."

Willow only needed a moment to figure out what had happened. She quickly jumped to her feet and followed him off. "What happened? The kid's too little—"

"Which is why the doctors are calling it a miracle. But I think we know better." He smirked. "Kid's as resilient as a Slayer."

Willow instantly brightened exponentially. The kid has the strength of both its parents. They hadn't even been factoring that into their worries. This child really was a bigger deal than Connor.

They finally came to the room.

Buffy lay in the bed, holding a bundle in a blanket. She smiled. "Will."

Willow obeyed, coming in first. She knelt down by the bed, gently moving the blanket to look at the sleeping child's face. "Already as beautiful as mom and dad."

Buffy smirked.

"Boy or girl?"

Buffy smiled again as Angel took her side. "Girl. Giselle Renee Summers."

Summer leaned against the door frame, looking in at the baby. "My aunt _and _my cousin." She smiled. Then she looked at Willow as she came over and let the others start to load in. "I wanna grow up with her."

Willow looked at her. "I can't exactly rewind time—"

"Can you at least make me look like a kid?"

Willow thought that over. "Well, you _are_ a kid so it shouldn't be too _much _of a stretch." She sighed. "A glamour mixed with your willingness should be as close to the real thing as I can come. I'll work something out. For you. I promise."

Summer smiled.

Buffy then looked at Giles as he took the seat by her bed. "Mind explaining how this 'miracle' went down?"

Giles sighed, exchanging looks with Angel. When he received a nod, he gently explained to Buffy all that had happened since her collapse on the roof of Buckingham.

Buffy sighed. "So I'm not the Slayer anymore?"

Angel sighed sadly, shaking his head.

But Buffy simply turned her gaze back to the newborn child asleep in her arms. She smiled, tears in her eyes, and held the baby girl named Giselle closer. "It was worth it."

**THE END…?**

Yay, it's done! The Twin Trilogy is complete! Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it, please review (and if you've got nothing nice to say, please don't say anything at all). Come back tomorrow to begin the Next Generation series. :)


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